Hideaway Cove (A Windfall Island Novel) (30 page)

But even if he knew the truth, sooner or later she’d do something to disappoint him.

She couldn’t seem to help it.

Dear Reader,

When the idea for LADY LUCK came to me, it was after watching the Dwayne Johnson film
Faster
.

I thought that movie was marvelous, and not just simply because I was watching all the beauty that is Dwayne Johnson on the screen.

What I enjoyed about it was that he played against his normal
The Game Plan
/
Gridiron Gang
funny guy/good guy type and shocked me by being an antihero. What made it even better was that he had very little dialogue. Now I enjoy watching Mr. Johnson do just about anything, including speak. What was so amazing about this is that his character in
Faster
should have been difficult to like, to root for, especially since he gave us very few words as to
why
we should do that. But he made me like him, root for him. Completely.

It was his face. It was his eyes. It was the way he could express himself with those—
not
his actions—that made us want him to get the vengeance he sought.

Therefore, when I was formulating Ty Walker and Alexa “Lexie” Berry from LADY LUCK in my head, I was building Ty as an antihero focused on revenge—a man who would do absolutely anything to get it. As for Lexie, I was shoehorning her into this cold, seen-it-all/done-it-all/had-nothing-left-to-give woman who was cold as ice.

I was quite excited about the prospect of what would happen with these two. A silent man with the fire of vengeance in place of his heart. A closed-off woman with a block of ice in place of hers.

Imagine my surprise as I wrote the first chapter of this book and the Ty and Lexie I was creating in my head were blown to smithereens so the real Ty and Lexie could come out, not one thing like I’d been making them in my head.

This happens, not often, but it happens. And it happens when I “make up” characters. Normally, my characters come to me as they are, who they are, the way they look, and all the rest. If I try to create them from nothing, force them into what I want them to be, they fight back.

By the time I got to writing Ty and Lexie, I learned not to engage in a battle I never win. I just let go of who I thought they should be and where I thought they were going and took their ride.

And what a ride.

I’m so pleased I didn’t battle them and got to know them just as they are because their love story was a pleasure to watch unfold. There were times that were tough, very tough, and I would say perhaps the toughest I’ve ever written. But that just made their happy ending one that tasted unbelievably sweet.

Of course, Ty did retain some of that silent angry man, but he never became the antihero I expected him to be, though he did do a few non-heroic things in dealing with his intense issues. And I reckon one day I’ll have my antihero set on a course of vengeance who finds a woman who has a heart of ice. Those concepts never go away. They just have to come to me naturally.

But I had to give Ty and Lexie their story as it came to me naturally.

And I loved every second of it.

Dear Reader,

There’s a lot more to being a writer than sitting at a computer and turning my imagination into reality. Of course I love creating characters, deciding on their personal foibles, inventing a series of events to not only test their character but also to help them grow. And that’s where everything begins: with the story.

But every writer does her share of book signings and interviews. As with every profession, there are some questions that crop up more often than others. Here are some examples—and the answers that run through my mind in my more irreverent moments:

But seriously, I hope you enjoy my second Windfall Island novel, HIDEAWAY COVE, as the search for Eugenia Stanhope, kidnapped almost a century before, continues.

Now Holden Abbot is joining the quest for truth, justice, and the American way… Wait, that’s Superman. Well, Holden Abbot may not be the man of steel, but he’s tall and handsome, and his smooth Southern accent doesn’t hurt either. And even if he can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, Jessi Randal is falling head over heels in love with him. She may be Eugenia Stanhope’s long-lost descendant, though, and that puts her life in danger, along with her seven year-old son, Benji. Holden may have to do the superhero thing after all. Or he may only be able to save one of them.

I had a great time finding out how this story ended. I hope you do, too.

www.AnnaSulivanBooks.com

Twitter @ASullivanBooks

Facebook.com/AnnaSullivanBooks

Dear Reader,

Writers hear it over and over again: Write about what you know. I believe I adhered to this rule when continuing the Cavanaugh Island series with MAGNOLIA DRIVE. This time you get to read about a young Gullah woman and her gift to discern the future. As I completed the character dossier for the heroine, I could hear my dearly departed mother whisper in my ear not to tell too much, because like her, my mother also had the gift of sight.

Growing up in New York City didn’t lend itself to connecting with my Gullah roots until I was old enough to understand why my mother and other Gullah held to certain traditions that were a litany of don’ts: Don’t put your hat on the bed, don’t throw out what you sweep up after dark, don’t put up a new calendar before the beginning of a new year, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The don’ts go on and on, too numerous to list here.

I’d believed the superstitions were silly until as an adult I wanted to know why my grandfather, although born in Savannah, spoke English with a distinctive accent. However, it was the womenfolk in my family who taught me what it meant to be Gullah and the significance of the traditions passed down through generations of griots.

In MAGNOLIA DRIVE, red-haired, green-eyed Francine Tanner is Gullah and a modern-day griot and psychic. She is able to see everyone’s future, though not her own. But when a handsome stranger sits in her chair at the Beauty Box asking for a haircut and a shave, the former actress turned hairstylist could never have predicted the effect he would have on her life and her future.

The first time Keaton Grace saw up-and-coming actress Francine Tanner perform in an off-Broadway show he found himself spellbound by her incredible talent. So much so that he wrote a movie script with her in mind. Then it was as if she dropped off the earth when she abruptly left the stage. The independent filmmaker didn’t know their paths would cross again when he made plans to set up his movie studio, Grace Lowcountry Productions, on Cavanaugh Island. Keaton believes they were destined to meet again, while Francine fears reopening a chapter in her life she closed eight years ago.

MAGNOLIA DRIVE returns to Sanctuary Cove, where the customers at the Beauty Box will keep you laughing and wanting more, while the residents of the Cove are in rare form once they take sides in an upcoming local election. Many of the familiar characters are back to give you a glimpse into what has been going on in their lives. And for those of you who’ve asked if David Sullivan will ever find a love that promises forever—the answer is yes. Look for David and the woman who will tug at his heart and make him reassess his priorities in
Cherry Lane
.

Happy Reading!

[email protected]

www.rochellealers.org